Joining two closed structures such as a hydro-formed tube and an extruded part together may create problems especially in the case of parts that are formed of aluminum. In a previous design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,550,545 assigned to applicant's assignee, an end of the hydro-formed tube is joined to an extruded part by abutting the tube against a side surface of the extruded part. Bridging plates are attached by fasteners to oppositely oriented surfaces of the hydro-formed tube and the extruded part.
One problem that may be encountered when joining closed hollow aluminum parts like hydro-formed parts and extruded tubular parts is that the strength of joints connecting the parts together may be limited. Another problem associated with the above prior art patent is that at least four parts in addition to the fasteners are necessary to join the parts. The use of four parts increases the number of manufacturing operations and the number of assembly fixtures required to hold the parts together during assembly.
This disclosure is directed to solving the above problems and other problems as summarized below.